Barackalypse Now

As the stock market dives 634 more points over the United States government getting downgraded by Standard & Poors, President Obama is looking more vulnerable than ever. Even some of his African American supporters—who are suffering most from unemployment—are getting disillusioned with him. In addition to our economic woes are our foreign policy failures, including setbacks in the continuing wars in Afghanistan and Libya. People are speaking of Barackalypse or Obamageddon.

I thought he was a shoo-in for re-election, but now I’m thinking he is assuming the mantle of Jimmy Carter. And yet this time there is no Ronald Reagan in the wings. I’m still not confident that any of the current candidates come across as presidential enough to beat him.

It looks like Texas governor Rick Perry is going to get in the race. He has scheduled a big speech this weekend and then he is booked to go to New Hampshire and Iowa. (Why else would he go to New Hampshire and Iowa unless he is going to run?) He seems to come across well in the presidential gravitas department and could probably unite both tea party activists and establishment Republicans.

Both Republicans and Democrats need to remember that it is not enough to vote for a candidate just on the basis of his or her ideology. Another consideration is, can this person govern? If Republicans select a light-weight ideologue who is incapable of effectively addressing the nation’s problems, they will face their own Armageddon. They will also drag the country down with them.